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On summer cottages, cherries are rightfully one of the main trees - it is difficult to imagine a modern garden without them. These trees are very beautiful during the flowering period, the aroma of flowers is felt far beyond the site. And large yields of delicious sweet-sour berries are an opportunity not only to prepare compotes or jams for the winter, but also to replenish your wallet by selling surplus berries.
However, many gardeners complain that old varieties of cherries do not justify themselves - yields are reduced, and rejuvenating pruning does not help either. Therefore, breeders are trying to breed more productive varieties of these stone fruit trees. One of these new varieties is Novella cherry. Its main characteristics, planting rules, advantages and disadvantages of the variety will be described below.
The history of the creation of the variety
Work on the breeding of this cherry variety has been carried out since the end of the last century. Varietal varieties Rossoshanskaya and Vozrozhdenie were crossed - this variety was bred by crossing cherries and bird cherry.
The authors of the variety were breeders from the Research Institute for Breeding Fruit Crops in Orel. The Novella cherry was added to the State Register in 2001, experts recommended growing this fruit tree in the Central Black Earth Region.
Cherry Novella
Description and characteristics of the Novella cherry variety
The main advantages of the variety:
- good yield,
- high resistance to frost,
- average ripening period of berries.
This cherry is of medium height, rarely grows above 2.9 m. The branches grow upward, the slightly spreading rounded crown looks very beautiful. The color of the bark of the trunk is brown, the color of the bark of the branches is brown with a brown tint.
Buds - medium-sized, about 5 mm, slightly deviated from the shoots, rounded.
Foliage - dark emerald with a matte shade, obovate. Small teeth are located along the edge of the foliage. The flowers are collected in bunches of 4, the petals are slightly corrugated, white in color. The ovary is formed on last year's shoots.
The buds actively appear on this tree in mid-May. The amicable ripening of cherries occurs approximately in the second decade of July. If weather conditions are favorable, 14-16 kg of harvest is harvested from one adult cherry.
Ripe berries have a dark red color, closer to black, their size is more than average, diameter is about 2.5 cm, weight is 4.9 g. Ripe fruits have a rounded shape, slightly flattened. The color of ripe Novella cherries is similar to sweet cherries. Ripe cherries have small bones that separate well from the juicy pulp. Peduncles are of medium length, up to 4.5 cm in length. Ripe fruits are well separated from the stalks. The density of the pulp is medium, maroon color, the taste is sour-sweet. The color of the juice obtained from these berries is a dark ruby color.
Since ripe berries are not prone to cracking, the harvested crop perfectly tolerates transportation over long distances, while excellent marketability and taste do not suffer.
Another advantage of this cherry variety is its high resistance to coccomycosis, and resistance to moniliosis is slightly above average.
The flowers are partly self-pollinated, so the plant requires pollinating insects.You can also plant other varieties of cherries nearby with similar flowering times for cross-pollination of flowers.
But nevertheless, the presence of such varietal cherries as Shokoladnitsa, Griot Ostheimsky or Vladimirskaya nearby will only increase the yield of this fruit tree. To attract insects, flowers and buds are sprayed with honey solution. In terms of pollination of flowers, Novella cherry is similar to the Putinka variety, which also requires the proximity of pollinating plants.
Planting and caring for cherry seedlings
It is better to buy seedlings of this variety in specialized nurseries, where the gardener is guaranteed to receive the variety that he wants to plant on the site.
Cherry seedling
A place for planting seedlings is selected well-lit by the sun's rays and protected from gusts of wind. Groundwater should not come close to the soil surface, otherwise the roots of the cherry will begin to rot.
The distance between the seedlings should be about 4 meters - in this case, the crowns will be well ventilated, spores of fungal diseases will not appear on the shoots.
Planting pits are prepared a couple of weeks before planting seedlings. On fertile loamy or sandy loamy soils, the size of the pit should be 50 cm deep and 80 cm in diameter. If the soil is sufficiently depleted, the size of the pit should be larger.
A mixture of mineral fertilizers is placed at the bottom of the pit; they should contain potassium sulfate, phosphate fertilizer, ash and potassium chloride. The next layer is humus mixed with garden soil. A seedling is lowered into the hole, its roots are straightened, and the top is covered with a mixture of garden soil with sand and humus. The soil must be tamped so that there is no air around the roots and pour at least 3 buckets of water. Top up the soil if necessary. The root neck of the cherry should be 1.5-2 cm above the ground.
Further care for the planted trees consists in regular watering, loosening the tree trunks and applying mulch. You should also remove weeds and make additional fertilizing.
Top dressing of wood ash
Harvesting
The collection of ripe fruits is carried out as the cherries ripen. Usually, the berries are harvested in the evening, you can not process the crop right away, since the fruits do not crack, they tolerate transportation well.
Advantages and disadvantages of the variety
The main advantages of Novella cherries include:
- high resistance to frost;
- good productivity in the presence of pollinating trees;
- excellent presentation and taste of ripe cherries;
- the small size of the tree, thanks to which it is easier to care for cherries and easier to harvest;
- high resistance to coccomycosis;
- partially self-pollinated flowers.
But this variety also has disadvantages. Cherries require fertile, loose soil, and the buds located in the middle of the tree are prone to freezing. Also, many gardeners note that the fruiting of this cherry is unstable - in different seasons, the yield can be high or much less than expected.
